Mary Seward
History Mary Seward: 1570 - 1593 Born the bastard daughter of a butcher's daughter, Mary Seward did not have many prospects for life, but somehow she landed a job in the employ of the local lord's estate where she caught the eye of the lord's son, Andrew. Mary and Andrew were of similar age and their attraction was mutual, leading to many secret rendezvous in the hayloft of the estate's stables. When their love affair was discovered, Andrew insisted that his father punish him rather than terminating Mary's employment. The lord of the manor agreed, sending Andrew off to fight in the Anglo-Spanish War. While Andrew was away, Mary kept a low profile in the estate, avoiding the lord and lady as much as possible. When the lady of the manor passed away due to complications with a failed pregnancy, the lord of the manor took an interest in Mary, which she continually rebuffed. She tried to write to Andrew to inform him of his father's advances, but months went by without word from her lover. One day while cleaning the lord's office, Mary found a letter from Andrew. She was so eager to learn anything of her dear Andrew that she read the letter and immediately realized the letter was not meant for the lord of the estate, but for Mary herself. Frantically searching the office, Mary found more letters from Andrew addressed to her and her own letters which the Lord of Fawny Rig had apparently intercepted. Frightened and uncertain how to proceed, Mary went into the nearby town of Wych Cross for a drink. While drinking she met a man by the name of Mr. Rallstone. He had an uncanny insight and approached Mary, offering to buy her drinks in exchange for discussing what troubled her. Captivated by his charisma, Mary unburdened herself with everything. When she finished, Mary felt as though she had said too much and apologized, but Rallstone stopped her in the street. He offered to solve Mary's problem if she would promise to leave Lord Bennett's window open that night. Mary did as instructed that night, not entirely certain of what to find the next morning. When Mary found the Lord of Fawny Rig dead the next morning, she retired to the lord's office and penned a letter to Andrew informing him of his father's death, certain this one would reach her lover. After mailing the letter, Mary stopped by the physician's office in town and calmly informed him of Lord Bennett's death. Over a month later, Mary found Andrew passed out in the scullery one morning, covered in blood and surrounded by the corpses of three rats and the family dog. Mary bathed her lover, buried the animal carcasses, and burned Andrew's soiled clothes. She convinced the other servants to not speak a word about Andrew's reclusive nature and strange behavior in the following years. Mary would share Andrew's bed, write his letters and mark them with his signet ring, and handle most of the estate's needs, becoming the unofficial Lady of Fawny Rig. On one occasion, she even killed Andrew's coachman when she discovered he had been spinning tales of his lord at the local tavern, paying the local gravedigger a handsome sum to add the body to another's grave. When Rallstone came back to Fawny Rig, Mary assumed he had come to ask a favor of her, but instead he offered to do her another favor. A considerably generous one. He offered her eternal life with Andrew if she only followed his instructions. She agreed and continually tried to arrange for Andrew and Rallstone to have sit-down meetings. Andrew refused to hear anything Rallstone had to say, telling Mary that Rallstone was the one who made him this way. When Andrew would not listen, Mary had Rallstone accompany her to Andrew's bedchamber in the late evening. The two confronted Andrew. With a knife in hand, Mary forced Andrew to watch as she slit her wrists. As she bled out, she begged Andrew to give her the gift Rallstone had given him. Queen of Blood: 1593 - Present When Mary awoke as a vampire, Rallstone welcomed the two to "Abyssia", his vampiric pact. While Andrew had initially rebelled against the dark impulses of the dark gift, Mary reveled in them. Soon after, she convinced Andrew to do the same. With Rallstone and other members of Abyssia, Mary and Andrew traveled Europe and even more exotic locales, leaving corpses in their wake. Though Andrew would on occasion come to his senses and flee Abyssia, Mary was always able to find him and bring him back into the fray, manipulating him with her affection and feminine wiles. In 1987, Abyssia returned to Fawny Rig, now the headquarters of the Order of Ancient Mysteries. It was here that Andrew and Mary discovered the reason Andrew had been chosen to serve Rallstone. Beneath Fawny Rig was a hidden chamber of occult significance, built long ago by the druids. The purpose of the chamber was to summon and imprison ancient beings known as the Endless, but the ritual could only be done every four hundred years during an alignment of the stars and the chamber's enchantments required those descended from the druid whose blood was used to make the sigils and summoning circles. Andrew was descended from this druid through his father's lineage, and doing some quick math, he realized his father had been killed four hundred years prior, almost to the day. Andrew was angry with Rallstone, having realizing Rallstone killed his father attempting to make him a vampire, and he refused to take part in the ritual. However, Mary convinced him to reconsider and Andrew did activate the chamber's magic, but then declared it would be the last thing he did for Rallstone. Once the ritual was complete, Andrew kept his promise and left. Mary did not go with her lover, instead, she remained in Fawny Rig for a while, even after Abyssia killed the occultists. Using her knowledge of Fawny Rig, Mary assumed the identity of the Order's librarian and when the Order sent more of its members to reclaim Fawny Rig, Mary infiltrated their ranks and used the opportunity to improve her mystical power and slowly turn every member of the Order into her vampiric vassal. The Order of Ancient Mysteries ceased to be, at least its Fawny Rig division, and was replaced by the Cult of the Blood Red Moon under Mary's guidance, so named for a ritual conducted under a Blood Moon and using drained power from the imprisoned Endless beneath Fawny Rig, to install Mary with eldritch power. Taking the title, Queen of the Blood Red Moon or the Queen of Blood, Mary led her vampiric cabal out of Fawny Rig, intent on acquiring more power. While meeting with the Cadre of the Immortal leadership in Santa Prisca, Mary found Andrew Bennett, apparently working as a cabana boy. The two could not resist reigniting their intimacy and Mary quickly recruited him into the Cult, naming him her "King of Vampires." However, Mary soon learned that it was not chance or fate that brought them together, but it was actually an act of deliberate subversion. Andrew had been leaking information on the cult's doings to SHADE, a secret organization intent on combating supernatural threats. Though the cult sought to destroy Andrew after impaling and beheading him, Mary prevented them from completely killing her lover and before she left his remains where they lay, she removed the stake and cut her own wrist, dropping the blood into her lover's mouth to give his healing a head start, whispering "Come find me, Andrew," in his ear. Find her, he did. Time and again. The two have continued their game of cat and mouse, both in the field as enemies, and in private as lovers. The two have upheld a monthly ceasefire for two decades, meeting at the Oblivion Bar at arranged times before spending a night (or sometimes even a full week) together in another location, not concerned with their various agendas or conflicting motives, before returning to the Oblivion Bar to go their separate ways once more. Threat Assessment Resources * Vampire Physiology: Mary is a vampire of the fourth generation. As vampires are a subset of the Undead, Mary has no need of regular food, water, or even air to maintain a facsimile of life. The only nourishment she requires is to sate her unholy thirst for blood. Human blood is the preferred source, but animal blood can suffice and the blood of some supernatural creatures can be a dangerous delicacy... or poison. ** Enhanced Strength: Mary's strength can usually match the lifting power of an Olympic athlete. If she has fed recently, Mary's strength is equal to Class II Strength. If she's gorged himself, her strength is Class III or possibly even Class IV. ** Invulnerability, Immortality & Regeneration: While Mary continues consuming blood, she will not age. If deprived of blood for a long period she'll rapidly age until becoming a dried and withered husk. Mary cannot be killed through lack of blood, only driven insane and immobilized. Mary is impervious to most forms of injury. If she is hurt by some means, drinking blood will restore her. ** Metamorphosis: Mary possesses the ability to transform into a bat, a wolf, a rat, or even into a pink mist. Her physical appearance may shift but her mental acuity remains constant regardless of form. Mary can also use the most basic version of this power to acquire things such as claws and elongated fangs to aid in feeding or combat. ** Predatory Senses: Mary's senses are enhanced far beyond normal, particularly tuned to the sounds of beating hearts, pumping blood, and the smell of open wounds or spilled blood. She also has exceptional night-vision. Mary can sense her lover Andrew by smell. ** Vampirism: Mary has mastered the ability to turn other suitable candidates into vampires. * Sorcery: Mary has unlocked the potential of her dark gift which enables her to become a master sorceress. However, being a vampire, she can only cast spells and engage in rituals and occult practices at night. She is exceptionally skilled at blood magic due to her vampiric nature and her power as the Queen of Blood. * Blade of the Blood Moon: A gift from Rallstone, Mary possesses an enchanted dagger, which she uses in her blood rituals. The knife is eternally sharp and can harm supernatural creatures of all kinds, but its most powerful ability is the ability to greatly enhance the power of any blood ritual in which it is used. Weaknesses * Sunlight: Mary is severely weakened and finds it difficult to focus when in direct sunlight. She also cannot enact her magic during daylight hours. * Impalement: Like all vampires, Mary can be crippled by being impaled through the heart and finds wounds caused by silver weaponry to be difficult to heal. * Andrew Bennett: Though she loves him dearly, he is also her vampiric sire. Mary cannot bring herself to kill him or allow others to destroy him (though, she's not opposed to staking him and throwing him down a waterfall, beheading him and tossing his bits into a wood chipper, or chaining him in silver chains and roasting him on a funeral pyre to slow him down). You only hurt the ones you love, right?Network Files (Extra): Mary Seward Analytics * Physicality: 4 - Expert / Enhanced * Occult: 5 - Master / Remarkable * Weaponry: 3 - Trained / Exceptional * Experience: 5 - Master / Remarkable * Ranged: 4 - Expert / Enhanced * Strategy: 3 - Trained / Exceptional Trivia and Notes Trivia * Mary has a Threat Assessment ranking of 60, marking her as a High Threat. Notes * Mary Seward is a character from I, Vampire. Links and References * Appearances of Mary Seward * Character Gallery: Mary Seward Category:Characters Category:Vampire Category:Villains Category:Cult of the Blood Red Moon Members Category:Abyssia Members Category:Immortality Category:Bisexual Characters Category:Magic Category:Class II Enhanced Strength Category:Invulnerability Category:Red Hair Category:White Hair Category:Green Eyes Category:Red Eyes Category:British Category:Engaged Characters Category:Terrorists Category:Female Characters Category:Enhanced Senses Category:Height 5' 6" Category:27th Reality Category:High Threat